Gov’s $1B education plan ties learning to growth

Gov. Deval L. Patrick unveiled a massive pre-K through college education agenda Tuesday in a move that recalled the far-reaching goals of his 2008 Readiness Project.

“The governor is continuing his crusade to expand opportunities and grow the economy, and that’s what today’s announcement is really about,” said state Secretary of Education Matthew Malone, who took office Monday.

The package would cost $550 million the first year and gradually grow to nearly $1 billion a year. The governor is expected to discuss how to pay for it as part of his State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday night.

The proposals come a day after Mr. Patrick proposed up to $1 billion in new annual revenue for transportation needs.

The education proposals are much more narrowly targeted than the broad goals a wide coalition developed as part of the Readiness Project, said S. Paul Reville of Worcester, a Harvard University lecturer who preceded Mr. Malone as secretary.

“The education investments are every bit as much a part of the infrastructure necessary for posterity as is an efficient transportation system,” Mr. Reville said.

But selling the idea of new revenue for schools is a different matter than selling new transportation fees and taxes, said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. While the governor’s administration has been building the case for more transportation revenue in meetings around the state, asking for a broad-based increase, perhaps on the income tax, education would open the door for many other groups.

“Once it gets in the legislative arena … a lot of groups and causes that have seen several years of budget cuts are going to want to see restorations for themselves,” Mr. Widmer said, mentioning mental health and courts as two such areas. “You may have a focus on education, but the debate becomes much broader.”

Casino revenue might help eventually, he said, but it “won’t be a huge amount of money,” perhaps $300 million a year, he estimated.

Mr. Widmer said any major increase in education funding, like any increase in transportation funding, should have a measure of accountability built in so the public can see what their money is doing.

At the higher education level, the governor’s proposal agrees to an idea for which University of Massachusetts President Robert L. Caret has been campaigning for a year: splitting educational costs at institutions of higher education 50-50 between the state and families. While the state contributed 57 percent of UMass’ educational program funding in fiscal 2008, that has fallen to 43 percent in this fiscal year, according to the university system.

The governor’s proposal “is a fair and equitable approach and is the key to providing our citizens with a higher education option that melds quality with affordability,” Mr. Caret said in a press release.

While the price tag of the governor’s proposals might seem large, the timing is better than it was for the Readiness Project, Mr. Reville said. “Happily, we’ve got a rising economy, rather than a falling economy,” he noted.

Even so, some elements of the Readiness Project were implemented, albeit on a smaller scale and sometimes with help from federal Race to the Top dollars.

Innovation schools, in-district schools with charter-like autonomy, grew out of that agenda, and the idea of putting support coordinators in low-income schools has come to fruition with the wraparound coordinators now in several schools in Worcester and several other districts.

The education proposal would:

— Eliminate the 30,000-name state waiting list for preschool and day care vouchers;

— Dedicate new Chapter 70 state education aid to reimburse districts for preschoolers in public school, not just those in special education inclusion classrooms;

— Eventually spend $70 million a year on expanded learning time for high-need middle schools; spend $20 million on comprehensive supports to students and families in Gateway Cities, which include Worcester, Leominster and Fitchburg;

— Increase Chapter 70 by $226 million to finish aid reforms started in 2007 and guarantee an increase of $25 per pupil for every district;

— Eventually spend $274 million a year to make college more affordable for low- and middle-income students;

— Fund at least 50 percent of the educational costs at state universities and community colleges.